Clearlight Photography

29/08/2026

Trees are amazing! This is a large Paperbark tree in Palm Cove.
Cairns Photographic Society Inc

22/08/2026

Golden Light

22/08/2026

Three Women Chatting

18/08/2026

Carmen Daniels

“I don't think people give that much of a damn about tradition. I think it's just Western vocabulary that they bring up "traditional" all the time. But I think when it comes to Native people themselves, they will refer to these things as: ‘Our forefathers, our fathers did it this way or that way. Or my grandmother said that it was not right for me to do it that way.’”—Melvin Olanna (Iñupiaq, 1941-1991)

Multidisciplinary artist Melvin Olanna was known for turning tradition on its head in his own way. He depicted what he knew, Alaska’s animals, but in nontraditional materials, like this stainless-steel sculpture of a “Running Bear.” Olanna maintained the tradition of subsistence hunting as his ancestors had for generations, while also obtaining a formal art education and living as a working artist.

Born in the now abandoned village of Ikpik, Olanna later moved to Shishmaref on Sarichef Island in the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait, off the coast of Alaska. Olanna dealt with severe tuberculosis as a child and was often in the hospital before eventually being cured. Sketching Alaska’s diverse wildlife is how he passed the time. The son of a sculptor, Olanna learned how to carve by observing his father and other elders, and later on from notable Indigenous sculptors.

After earning a fellowship to study at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM, Olanna was taught and influenced by Allan Houser (Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache). While at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, he studied under Ronald Senungetuk (Iñupiaq). There, he met his wife, Karen, an artist in her own right. Eventually, the couple and their three children split their time between Shishmaref and the Seattle, WA area to be closer to fine art markets and galleries. Olanna's sculptures, ivory carvings, and woodcut prints remained true to Alaska and its natural beauty.
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Melvin Olanna (Iñupiaq, 1941-1991) and Art Castings of Colorado, “Running Bear,” 2014. Stainless steel and granite sculpture. 73.5 x 31 x 24.3 cm. Cast from the artist's last sculpture; donated to the museum by the artist's widow Karen Olanna in 2014. 26/9344

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CALLING INDIGENOUS ARTISTS: Are you in search of an opportunity to showcase your work? We invite you to apply for the museum's annual Native Art Market, held each December. Submit your application on our website by 5:30 PM ET, Friday, September 4, to be considered. https://s.si.edu/4gdxxEt

18/08/2026

Attention seeking....

25/07/2026

A wonderful opportunity to meet and support local authors, explore the books in our backyard, and enjoy a day in a beautiful tropical setting.
See you there!

25/07/2026

Glossy new life

21/06/2026

Costa at the Eco Fiesta imitating a Cassowary!

01/06/2026

01/06/2026

There was a spectacular Blue M***a over Cairns last night!
Cairns Photographic Society Inc